Gotterdammerung, GC 43-45 Xhoel (Axis) vs Hghx-0 (WA)

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: John B.

Thanks for keeping this going! It's a very interesting read.

Nice to hear that people are still reading the AAR. Thanks for the kind words John!

[Q-Ball]

Yes, keep it up....nice job!

The Puglia area is important for the Allies you are right, because as Allies you can't really bomb Austria until you have it. The PzIV plant in Steyr, as well as all the refineries around Vienna make tempting targets

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

Yes, keep it up....nice job!

The Puglia area is important for the Allies you are right, because as Allies you can't really bomb Austria until you have it. The PzIV plant in Steyr, as well as all the refineries around Vienna make tempting targets

Thanks Q-Ball. As far as I can tell my opponent has moved most of his 4E Bomber Groups to Britain so maybe it will be a couple of turns until the Allies start hitting Austria. I am hoping that next turn things are quiet in the air. The 8th Air Force has taken a heavy beating but the cost has been quite high on our side too.

[LiquidSky]

I turned the Pulia airfields into my air transport fleet. The ports fill up with freight, and I fly it forward up Italy.

Wow...you sure have lost a lot of pilots! It is pretty much the only stat that matters to me as the Germans. Planes you will have lots of. The allies are essentially infinite in both planes and pilots. I am more interested in damaging bombers then shooting them down, and I stay the 'ell away from the bulk of his fighters until I am forced to meet them in mid '44

[xhoel]

T13, 25th of September-2nd of October 1943
Situation Report [Northern Europe]

The heavy fighting in the last couple of weeks and a turn in the weather has forced both the 8th US Air Force and the British Bomber Command to stop operations over the skies of Germany temporarily. No cities in Germany were hit last week and our fighter wings get some well deserved rest. Weather forecast for next week is heavy rains, a welcomed sign of the approaching autumn.

The Americans however use their fresh 2E Bomber Groups to hit marshalling yards and key railways in Belgium. They fly unopposed as this region is only protected by flak formations.

American raids over Belgium:



Air Italy

Our bombers keep patrolling the sea lanes west and north-west of Rome. This whole area is under our control and recon indicates no air asset build up neither in Sardinia nor in Corsica. Instead most of the enemy air assets are located in the Pulia region. The enemy has hit marshalling yards and key railway lines in the area around Rome. Enemy recon seems to be concentrated on the area around Pescara and the front line. No recon flights were spotted over Rome. Meanwhile our Tactical Bombers are ordered to interdict enemy movement in the area around Foggia. The complete the task succesfully.

Sea lanes west of Rome:



Anglo-American bombing of railyards:



German Interdiction of Foggia:

[xhoel]

Ground Italy

The invasion still has not happened. The enemy has captured Foggia but still has not made contact with our defensive line. One Infantry division has been transferred to Napoli to relieve the 3rd PzGren Division and more infantry units are on the way. The plan is to create a fast moving reserve of PzGren Divisions to be able to counter any major attack on our main defensive line as well as to contain any possible Anglo-American landing.



Circled in black, arriving infantry units.

No changes in the defenses in front of Rome so far. The 16th SS Sturm Brigade moves to Piombino to garrison the port. Weather is predicted as clear for next week.



Situation north of Rome. The circled unit is the 16th SS Sturm Brigade

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: LiquidSky



I turned the Pulia airfields into my air transport fleet. The ports fill up with freight, and I fly it forward up Italy.

Wow...you sure have lost a lot of pilots! It is pretty much the only stat that matters to me as the Germans. Planes you will have lots of. The allies are essentially infinite in both planes and pilots. I am more interested in damaging bombers then shooting them down, and I stay the 'ell away from the bulk of his fighters until I am forced to meet them in mid '44

Yeah I did some rookie mistakes. Happens since its the first time playing the GC. I don't think it that way. The Allies do have an almost infinite amount of everything globally but you can force them to suffer local shortages. Anyway, time will tell if I am right. Thanks for the comment!

[Balou]

Great read, your AAR. Thumbs up !

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: Balou

Great read, your AAR. Thumbs up !

Thanks Balou!

[xhoel]

T14, 2nd of October-9th of October 1943
Situation Report [Northern Europe]

The weather predictions by our meterologists turned out to be incorrect. Instead of Heavy Rains we only had light showers during the week, allowing the 8th US Air Force to bomb Hessen, more precisely 3 main cities where truck production is focused: Frankfurt (15), Mainz (78) and Mannheim (10). The raids have caused extensive damage to the truck factories and priority repairs have been ordered for the factory at Mainz (the biggest truck factory in Germany).





Their raids were composed of 120 fighters and 300 4E Bombers. Our fighter groups spaced far from each other suffered heavy losses during the interception, 97 fighters as well as 65 fighter pilots were lost . Nevertheless we inflicted losses on the enemy bombers and on the escorting P-38 Lightnings. 70 P-38 Lightnings were shot down as well as 106 4E Bombers.



The results are by all means unimpressive and have forced us to reevaluate our air defense strategy. The OKL has ordered all day fighter groups in Germany to be on R&R for the week and home bases have been changed in order to group fighters more effectively. The fighters stationed in Rumania, East Prussia and Italy as well as night fighter groups are unaffected by these orders. Weather prediction for next week is: rain and scattered showers. The WA target will probably be north Germany, where most U-Boat pens are located.

The best interception of the week:



U-boat Status:



Air Italy

No changes in the air war in Italy. We still have control of the sea lanes west of Rome and in the Adriatic Sea. Recon has picked up increasing numbers of planes stationed in the Puglia region and aircraft were also detected in Foggia. The Tactical Air Force bombed the airfield at Ciampino last week, destroying 9 Level Bombers on the ground.

[xhoel]

Ground Italy

Units are moved around during this week, as part of the general defensive plan that requires the Bifena Line to be manned by infantry formations backed by mobile reserves. The 3rd PzGren Division is relieved by the arriving 266th Infantry Division. The 4th FJ Division is transferred to the Rome Defensive Area while the 157th Mountain Division is transferred to the Bifena Line. The 148th Reserve Infantry Division is transferred from Southern France to Italy. The Anglo-American landing has not happened yet. Weather for next week is predicted to be clear.





Ground Losses:

[xhoel]

T15, 9th of October-16th of October 1943
Situation Report [Northern Europe]

The RAF Bomber Command hit U-Boat pens in the north and Truck/AFV factories near Hannover and Braunschweig while the 8th US Air Force hit the same truck factories as last week (Frankfurt, Mainz, Mannheim) knocking them out. This presents a serious problem as these 3 factories alone are responsible for 20% of all truck production.



The Americans flew their sorties unopposed, due to OKL orders that forbid all day fighter groups from engaging enemy formations. The British however fared much worse. A combination of intercepts by our night fighters, flak concentration and bad weather lead to the destruction of 191 heavy bombers and 17 night fighters. Our Flak claimed 119 of the losses.
15 Stirling III, 21 Wellington X, 43 Halifax B.II and 60 Lancaster B.I as well as other airframes were destroyed during the week.



The U-Boat Pens will possibly remain a target of the Anglo-American Air Offensive in the coming weeks, so Generaloberst Lohr (the new commander of Luftflotte Reich) has ordered the transfer of additional fighter assets to the north to catch the enemy by surprise. 700 fighters are concentrated in the area.

[xhoel]

Italy

In Italy the enemy has neither launched their invasion nor made contact with out forces. Recon has detected the equivalent of a Corps in the Foggia region, Paratroopers in Sardinia and a build up of forces in Tunis (the invasion force?). However the force concentration in Italy seems to be quite small and more and more the fear increases of a possible invasion in France. This fear was reinforced after areal recon reports of a possible build up in the port of Southampton. The OKH has ordered the transfer of additional recon air groups in France in order to get a clearer picture of the situation.





More reinforcements arrive on the Bifena line. The whole line from Termoli to Salerno is being manned by Infantry formations with the 3rd and 15th PzGren Divisions in reserve. The 90th PzGren Division has been transferred to Rome to bolster our defenses there.

[xhoel]

T16, 16th of October-23rd of October 1941
Situation Report [Northern Europe]

The fighting of last week was the bloodiest so far and the enemy has taken a heavy blow: 600 planes are lost, of which 400 are level bombers, almost all 4 engine heavy bombers. Enemy fighter losses are also heavy, 146 P-38 Lightnings are destroyed. Our losses are also quite high, 225 interceptors of all types (FB, F, NF) are lost. 146 pilots are KIA.





The 8th US Air Force fell into our trap and hit the fuel plants in the north where most of our fighters were stationed. The Americans threw 22 of their 27 bomber groups in the offensive. Our intelligence failed to detect that the Americans had transferred 2 additional P-38 Lightning FB groups to England from the Mediterrenean, a surprise that cost us dearly. The bombers, escorted by 7 P-38 Lightning Groups (instead of the usual 5) managed to do quite some damage to both the refineries and to our fighter groups. Shown below are the 4 main battles as well as the damage done to the fuel refineries:



Staggering numbers, 1.774 planes in one battle.







Damages to fuel refineries. 2 plants are completely out of action. Heavy damages on other locations.



The RAF Bomber Command hit the U-Boat pens and level bomber factories in the north. AFV and truck factories in Hannover and Braunschweig were also hit. The last two cities have been reinforced with additional Flak Batteries.





The British are targeting LB production. The He 111H-16/R1 is the second most produced LB of the LW.







The Strategic Air Force stationed in Italy also made raids on Ploesti, hitting the fuel refineries there. However due to a lack of recon the Americans only inflict little damage. We destroy 34 bombers and 11 fighters while losing 16 fighters of our own, some of which belong to the Bulgarian and Rumanian Air Forces. The enemy has transferred 3 bomber groups in the Mediterranean so we will see increased activity in the Ploesti sector soon. Additional AA batteries have been earmarked for the defense of the fuel refineries.





Considering the high number of enemy fighters present in the theater right now, Luftflotte Reich has decided to concentrate all fighters in one sector in order to maximise effectivnes and enemy losses. The trap has been set for the Hannover-Braunschweig area. Around 700 fighters are deployed to defend the sector.

[xhoel]

Italy

Situation remains quiet in Italy. The enemy has not moved from their positions yet. Recon over the ports of Bone and Tunis indicates a buildup of naval forces awaiting to launch the naval invasion. The weather is predicted to be clear for the area south of Rome next week. North of the capital, showers are expected.







Army Group C is expected to lose some fighting power in the following weeks. For one, the 1st SS Panzer Division, the strongest unit in Italy at the moment tasked with guarding Rome, will be transferred to the Eastern Front. The 16th Panzer Division located near Napoli is expected to follow suit in about 4 weeks.



Due to the fact that many other units are being transferred from France to the East, there is little hope that AGC will receive any new units to bolster its ranks any time soon.

[Chama]

Interesting AAR. Thanks for posting!

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: Chama

Interesting AAR. Thanks for posting!

Thanks for the kind words, stay tuned!

[xhoel]

T17, 23rd of October-30th of October 1941
Situation Report [Northern Europe]

Last week, only the 8th US Air Force made an appearance over the skies of the Reich, bombing fuel plants in the north. The American forces fly almost unopposed save for interceptions from the III./JG 26 stationed in the north. We lose around 70 fighters for little gains. The fuel refineries are in ruins and production has stopped. The weather over the Reich next week is predicted to be bad (heavy rains) so Luftflotte Reich will get some well deserved rest.





Disclaimer: I forgot that the fighter group stationed in the north was set to day missions instead of rest. As a result the group got completely mauled by the Americans. Live and learn!

Air Italy

The enemy has hit marshalling yards and key rail lines in Italy with an intensity not seen so far. Enemy recon and naval patrols have also increased the amount of sorties. Intelligence and air recon indicates massive build up of a transport fleet in Sardinia where an American Paratrooper Division is stationed. The enemy has also moved a lot of aircraft in the Puglia area. Around 550 fighters and 350 bombers are concentrated in the sector. This is a clear indicator that the naval invasion will be launched this week.

Recon concentration in the Ancona sector and enemy air assets in the Puglia region:





Heavy fighting is reported in the north, where the lone JG 53 (120 fighters) has to deal with the brunt of the combined American and British air offensive. The Gruppe rises up to the task however inflicting heavy casualties on the Anglo-Americans. The British chose to use Wellingtons for daylight bombing, a costly mistake: 92 Wellingtons of all types were destroyed last week. The Gruppe suffers heavy losses however: 34 fighters (28% of the force) is lost and the OKL authorizes additional fighter groups to be sent to the sector.



A victory for the JG 53. Other encounters did not go so favorably for us.

[xhoel]

Ground Italy

In Italy no major movements have happened. Army Group C has unfortunately lost the services of the 1st SS Panzer Division, the strongest unit in the theater. The 16th Panzer Division (stationed near Napoli) takes its place, and is transferred to Rome.
On the Bifena Line we have ''Stizkrieg'', the enemy shows no initiative to make contact with our defensive line (save for elements of the 1st Canadian Division).



The Bifena Line and the Rome sector. The movement of the 16th Panzer Division shown in black.

Disturbing is the increase in recon sorties in the Ancona sector, which is defended only by 1 Infantry Division, the 242nd. The terrain near the beaches here is flat, perfect to stage an invasion, but for the time being no orders to reinforce the sector have been given. The LVIII Panzer Corps will have to make do with what it has.

The Ancona sector (LVIII Panzer Corps)



Weather predictions for next week:

[Bitburgerdraft]

Great AAR, convinced me to buy the game!